Okay then...

I had another debate... this time with a new world creationist I think they're called. He thinks the Earth is 6000 years old. Six thousand years old... great. He was firm on that too, claiming that there is hard scientific evidence for it and he saw that evidence on some DVD's that he has where christian scientists explain why this is true. Right, and I'm a talking snake that seduced Adam's rib.

I told him about Carbon-14 tests and all of the studies and finding archeologist, geologists, etc... He then said that Carbon-14 tests are unreliable AND that if we were millions of years old why weren't we already flying in cars and all that. I explained evolution, then he said that evolution is just a mere theory not based on facts just assumptions and I said so are all the religions in the world. That shut him up for a while... then he said that the 6000 years is a maybe, and we could be instead 12000 years old but NEVER millions of years old. His logic is as flawed as his God, sadly. Then I just made simple math: 2000 - 6000 = 4000BC. So using his logic, the Sumerian alphabet, the wheel, the irrigation systems and all that (discovered around 4000BC) happened either the same day, week, month or year. And still using his logic, those civilizations created that the same day "God" created them.

Absurd... After that he never talked to me again, I really didn't give a single fuck and I was happy with my work.

Sounds like you did a pretty good job. I hate it when theists try to say the evolution is JUST a theory. That alone shines brightly on their ignorance on the matter. Just one critique though... You said that he brought of Carbon dating. When he said that it's inaccurate, he was semi-correct. Carbon dating is great for dating more recent samples, and when you're talking about the age of the Earth and universe, the accuracy goes out the window. However, carbon isn't used for dating those things. When something that old is radiometric dated, different isotopes with a slower decay rate are used, and are impressively accurate for such samples.

That DVD sounds familiar. A friend gave me a copy years ago. I think it is still in my shop to level up my drill press! Never had the heart to look at it. He left to teach in Japan about the same time. Don't know if he found God again during the last Earth quake!

Evolution does not need to be validated by 'unbelievers', it just is. I don't have to believe in gravity to suffer its effects! Radiation does not seem to care if we know it even exists, we are just in the way. People might not want to acknowledge the reality of deep time, or that they are hardly more than an after thought of the planet's history, but here we are. Why did 'god' go out of his way to make so many types of bettles? Now was that intelligent?

Explain to him what a scientific theory is. Evolution is a well supported set of *facts* that explain the biodiversity of life on earth. Then explain that Carbon-14 is not the only dating method that we use. Hell, tree rings prove the earth is older than 6,000 years.

You can't talk to these creationist man. I have debates with a bunch of them at school and they use all kinds of mental acrobatics to get around what I'm saying. Reason doesn't work with religious people, because if it did, there would be none.